Ready or not, we're entering an AI world

The tech landscape as we know it is about to be obliterated. No, I’m not talking about the impact of a Trump presidency, but something bigger—much bigger. The impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies, including machine learning, deep learning and neural networks, is now starting to be felt almost everywhere we look. (See my previous column “Learning About Deep Learning” for more.) From everyday devices like PCs and smartphones, to media companies like Facebook, to smart home security services, to connected cars and even to medical diagnostics, the influence of AI is growing rapidly. Not only is it changing the products and services we use, it’s dramatically reshaping the technical infrastructure behind cloud-based services ranging from web searching to communications bots to personalized advertising (unfortunately!) and much more.…